710 - Last Night, Last Fight
by violetkitty
Summary: The series finale left me feeling... unfulfilled. So I decided to re-write it. Eric has betrayed the Yakuza, and now they're going after Sookie Stackhouse. Old friends must unite, because it will take all of Bon Temps to protect her. Begins after episode 7.9 and goes through to Thanksgiving. Bill/Sookie, despite my personal preference.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, Eric," Pam said, watching as the ancient Viking paced the Fangtasia basement. He was deep in thought for a long time, then stopped.

"Untie her," he commanded, waving a hand at the squirming Sarah Newlin.

"I'm sure Sookie will be... wait, what?" Pam paused, unsure if she'd heard her maker correctly. "You're letting her go? Eric, the Yakuza aren't messing around!"

The air in the basement was charged, and when Eric turned to face her Pam could feel any anxiety melt away. He had the face of a man with a plan. "Pamela, do you really think I'm going to let our cash cow go free?" he asked, giving her a tiny smirk. "It won't take long for Gus to realize we've double crossed him, and in less than 24 hours he will bring the wrath of the Yakuza. You're going to go through the tunnel and take Ms. Newlin to Sookie's house. Wait for me there. If I'm not there by sunrise, use the bed beneath the living room and I will meet you at dusk."

He spun to go out the tunnel himself, but Pam grabbed his arm. "There's going to be men at Sookie's, what should I do with them?" she asked, causing him to clutch her in a one armed hug and deliver a kiss to her forehead.

"Use your imagination," he told her, an idea she loved, and after he was gone she wandered over to release Sarah's restraints.

"Looks like we're going on a field trip, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."

XXX

It would have been just as easy to run or drive to Bill Compton's house, but when you were a thousand-year-old Viking flair was everything. Eric touched down lightly in Bill's yard, then walked up to the front door and tapped his knuckles lightly against the wood. There was no motion inside the house. Finally he had to twist the knob and let himself in, eyebrows lifting as he peered around into the foyer.

"Bill?" he called, and there was a rustling in the office. Bill appeared in the doorway, looking pale and drawn, and Eric sighed. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Eric, what are you doing here? Did Sookie inform you of my intentions?" Bill asked, in his old fashioned way. Eric never could understand why Bill couldn't just... get with the times. Perhaps it was because Eric had seen more of the world, but ever since Sookie had seemingly chosen Bill over him the younger vampire's genteel manner really grated on his nerves.

"Finally going to make an honest woman out of her?" Eric couldn't keep himself from sneering, causing Bill to wince.

"I've asked her to use her light. When she uses it to kill me, she'll be human and we'll both be free," Bill explained, a dreaminess covering his expression that Eric envied for a moment. If only things were really that simple. Still, if Sookie did agree to put Bill out of his misery, that meant he might have a chance... Eric had to shake the thoughts away, filing them for examination at another, less urgent time.

"Your Fairy assisted suicide will have to wait. We've got a small problem," Eric said, leaning his long form against Bill's desk. "That Hep-V cure you so cavalierly dismissed has turned into a real problem. I've... backed out of a deal with the Yakuza, and they're not going to take it very well."

Bill laughed a little, then coughed and slumped down into his desk chair. "Double crossing the Yakuza is not one of your more brilliant schemes. I suggest you leave Bon Temps as quickly as possible, if there's any place you can hide from them."

"Your concern is touching, but I'm sure you'll be interested to know that they're headed toward the house across the cemetery as we speak," Eric said, watching as Bill sat straight up in his seat.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, Sookie."

Bill slapped the desk, surging to his feet before remembering how weak he was. "Damn it, Eric, this is precisely the reason we must let her go, don't you see? Our very existence puts her in danger time and time again. I'm finished bringing darkness into her life."

"You'll have to save your noble sacrifices for later. I need..." Eric faltered, not wanting to say it, and he ground his teeth to keep the words coming. "I need your help. To protect her,"

He wanted to help, Eric could see it plainly in his face, but his shouldered still sagged with the defeat he'd seen in the Fangtasia basement. "I won't be much good to you in my current condition, I'm sure you realize that."

"I don't have a choice. We need all the help we can get, once Pam gets done slaughtering the first wave they will send everything they have to wipe us out. Particularly since we've got Sarah Newlin tied up in the Stackhouse basement," Eric explained in a flippant tone, twirling a paperweight between his long fingers and waiting to see if his plan to get Bill fired up was working. The younger vampire growled, a deep guttural sound from the base of his throat, and Eric had to hold out a hand to restrain him. "The sun is nearly up, Bill, and in your condition you'll just exhaust yourself racing over there. Pam will protect her until the sun goes down again. In the meantime we have calls to make."

XXX

Sookie had just put on her favorite worn pajamas and scrubbed her face clean when there was a knock on the door. She glanced at the clock, it was already 11:30. Who on earth would be calling at that time of night?

When she got to the living room she peered through the curtain, shocked to find a blood spattered Pam holding the arm of a tied up Sarah Newlin. She threw open the door, eyes going wide.

"Evening, Sookie, mind if we come in?" Pam drawled, pushing herself up from where she had been leaning against the door frame and pulling Sarah in behind her. The gagged woman stared at Sookie with pleading eyes, cries muffled by the strap stuffed into her mouth. Pam pushed Sarah into one of the kitchen chairs, turning to examine herself in the hall mirror.

Sookie simply gaped at her. "Pam, what are you doing here? Why are you covered in blood, where's Eric?"

Pam had finished re-applying her lipstick and turned to the shorter girl, a barely tolerant smile playing in her eyes. "There were some Japanese gentlemen in your yard that were planning on killing you. Don't make that face, I'll clean it up tomorrow night. Mind if I borrow something to wear?"

Without waiting for a response Pam grabbed Sarah by the arm again, practically dragging her up the stairs. Sookie looked at the phone, considering calling Eric or Bill, or maybe even Jason, but instead she followed the vampire up to her room. When she caught up with them Pam was rifling through her closet, an annoyed look on her face.

"Don't you own anything without a daisy or a kitten plastered on the front of it?" she complained, holding up a dress of Sookie's that would basically be a shirt on her.

"I still don't understand what you're doing here. Eric told those guys that I was just some fangbanger and pretended to glamour me," Sookie said, feeling that familiar tickle of dread that always accompanied a vampire emergency. When was she going to learn her lesson and just stay out of things?

Pam laughed, grabbing out another handful of clothes and tossing them onto the bed. They nearly hit Sarah, who was sitting obediently at the end. "Yeah, and it was so convincing. Don't ever take up acting. No, Gus didn't buy it, and now he knows you're the only other human who knows about Blondie here."

"So they're going to come kill me? Why am I not surprised?" Sookie huffed, sitting down next to Sarah and trying to ignore how bizarre the situation was. If anyone was used to the strange and awkward, it was Sookie Stackhouse.

"You're a danger magnet. In over a hundred years I've never seen anyone glide so effortlessly in and out of the jaws of death. 'Cept maybe me," Pam said, inhaling deeply as she reached in and pulled a dress from the back. It was red, and shiny like snake, and much too big for the petite Sookie. The tags were still on it. "Now this, I like."

She was naked before Sookie could react, stripping down without an ounce of shame and pulling the dress over her head. It fit like a second skin, and Sookie could feel a pang of sadness pulling at her lungs.

"That was Tara's. She tried to get me to wear it to a party at Arlene's a few summers ago, but it was just too much. I guess we both forgot about it."  
There was a suffocating silence, and if Sookie didn't know better she would have thought there were bright red tears gathering in the corners of Pam's eyes.

"I know you miss her," Sookie said softly, standing up and moving in behind the blonde vampire. The words broke the spell, and Pam gave her an icy look before grabbing Sarah up by the arm and starting down the stairs.

"You don't know anything. It's time we got you situated for the day..." Sookie heard Pam tell Sarah, and she sat down on the bed with a sigh. How was she supposed to get any sleep now?

XXX

_a/n: i know i shouldn't be starting a new fic when i've got two others in the works, but damn it, i can't stand it! i hate hate hated the ending, and i know just how i want it to play out. i'm going to give us the big bang of a finale we all deserve!_


	2. Chapter 2

"Sook! Are you here?" Jason was trying to be calm as he bounded up onto the front porch the next afternoon, but there was a tremor in his voice that popped up every time his sister was in danger... which to be fair, was most of the time. Sookie appeared in the screen door, a cup of coffee in her hand and a strange look on her face.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" she asked, pushing open the door to let him in. He hugged her hard, nearly spilling her coffee on the rug.

"Oh, thank God," he said with a long sigh, then pulled back to look her in the eye. "Did you know there's about five headless Japanese men in your flowerbed?"

Sookie snorted a laugh at that, she couldn't help it, every day her life seemed to get a little more surreal. Jason's eyebrows dipped together, obviously thinking she was losing her mind.

"It's a long story..." Sookie started to say, leading him into the kitchen, but he stopped short when he realized Sarah Newlin was tied to a chair at his gran's table. She smiled at him around a gag, mumbling out some muffled words that sounded a lot like "hey Jason".

"Sarah? What the hell is she doing here? You know everyone's looking for her, right? There's even a poster down at the station. You gonna turn her in?" he asked, and Sookie bit her lip, placing her empty mug in the sink after giving it a rinse.

"Like I said, it's a long story. I've got to keep an eye on her for a while, but believe me she'll answer for all the things she's done..." Sookie explained, stopping as she looked out the window into the driveway. "Who's that in your car?"

Jason felt butterflies flapping around in his stomach as he moved in next to Sookie, pushing the curtains out of the way so he could see the girl in his cruiser, her blonde hair swaying in the sun as she sang along to the radio. "Oh, that's Bridgette, Hoyt's ex girlfriend."

"Hoyt?" He could hear the disapproval in her voice, which was damn irritating considering her track record with men was less than stellar. "Jason, why is Hoyt's girlfriend in your cruiser?"

Running a hand through his hair, Jason took a seat at the table near Sarah. "Ex Girlfriend, it's all a little messy, but I'm..." he paused when he realized Sarah was staring at him, listening to their entire conversation, and it unnerved him. He motioned toward the living room with his head. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

Sookie shrugged and followed as he escaped out of earshot of their captive, sitting on the couch while he toyed with the curios on the mantle.

"I'm getting a kind of a... vibe from Bridgette, and I was wondering if maybe you could, you know, check it out for me-"

"Oh Jason, I don't think that's a good idea," Sookie interrupted, but Jason held up his hands.

"I know, and I wouldn't ask, but she's leaving for Alaska later today, and I need to know if I should say something before she goes."

Sookie frowned, eyes pulling away to stare at a spot on the wallpaper from when Eric and Bill had fought in the living room. "Maybe you should go with her, just for a little while. Things are going to get a little crazy, and it might be good if you weren't around," she said quietly, causing the back of Jason's neck to tingle.

"What do you mean? Are you in trouble?" he asked, and nearly laughed at the dark look his sister gave him.

"Jason, there's headless men in the garden, what do you think?"

Officer Stackhouse could feel himself shift into crisis management mode. "Well then, let me take Bridgette to the airport and I'll come back to help you. I'm not going to let you take on these Japanese dudes on your own-"

"Please, it's too dangerous. I'll let you know when it's safe to come back," Sookie pleaded, getting up off the couch and taking his arm. He could tell she was scared, even if she was doing her best to pretend she wasn't, and he hoped for all the help she'd given the people of Bon Temps over the years he wasn't the only one who wanted to protect her.

"You're not getting rid of me, Sook. I'm your brother, and you're the only family I've got left. We've got to protect each other." He pulled her into a hug then, holding tight to the last of his family, and a moment later the screen door swung open again. Bridgette looked first to Jason and Sookie, then down the hall to where Sarah was still tied up.

"Officer Stackhouse, why is that woman tied to a chair?" Bridgette asked calmly, already earning her points in Sookie's book. If you were going to be in Bon Temps, it just didn't do to be freaking out at the first sign of something weird.

"I told you to call me Jason..." Jason said without thinking, then groaned. "Oh, geez. I can explain this, really I can."

Sookie stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Hi, you must be Bridgette. I'm Sookie, Jason's sister. How about we have a cup of coffee, and I can explain to you why we're currently housing prisoners?"

XXX

One hour and two cups of coffee later they were all seated around the table, Sookie and Jason having taken turns explaining the whole thing while Sarah sat calmly, glamoured within an inch of her life.

"I should really take you to the airport," Jason finally said, more than a little disappointment in his voice. Bridgette frowned, fingers gripping her coffee mug.

"You can't leave now, your sister needs you," she argued, pulling away as Jason tried to help her to her feet. Sookie gave her a sympathetic look.

"You really should let him take you, it's going to get really dangerous here in a few hours, and I don't want you to get caught up in it."

"Sooner than that, I'd imagine. The sun's going down in half an hour," came a voice from the porch, and the door opened to reveal Hoyt standing in the late afternoon sun. Sookie stood up, walking quickly to embrace him.

"Hoyt! How have you been?" she asked, laughing as he picked her up in a hug.

"Good. Vampire Bill called and said that you might need some help. Jess will be by after dark, but I came on ahead because I need to talk to Jason," he said, fixing his former best friend with a stare none of them could read. Jason swallowed against his nervousness, looking over to see how Bridgette was taking the whole thing. Sookie had thought quickly, though, and after hugging Hoyt she'd began to lead Bridgette off into the living room, under the pretense of "girl talk". Jason watched them go gratefully, then turned back to Hoyt.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Jason asked, hoping the taller man wasn't stalking him. Hoyt frowned.

"Didn't you get a phone call?"

Reaching into his back pocket Jason retrieved his ancient cell phone, realizing the thing was set to silent and he had several missed calls and text messages. One text message was from a number he didn't recognize, probably Bill, asking that he meet at Sookie's when the sun went down. Jason grimaced, shoving the thing back into his pocket. "Oops. What did you want to talk about?"

Hoyt shot a look at Sarah, who was still sitting quietly with a serene look on her face. "Can we talk somewhere alone?"

Jason shrugged, trying to gauge Hoyt's mood. "I dunno, you're not going to deck me again, are you?" he asked, taking a step backwards.

Hoyt considered. "Not sure. Probably not," he finally said, holding open the back door and waiting for Jason to lead out onto the porch. When he did Hoyt followed, closing the door firmly behind him.

They stood for a long time in an uncomfortable silence before Hoyt finally spoke, leaning against the railing with a far off look in his eye. "I have to tell you something."

"If this is about you and Jess, I already figured out what was going on. If it's about me and Bridgette, I didn't do nothin'," Jason rambled, holding his hands up, but Hoyt was already interrupting him.

"I remember everything," he admitted, head swiveling to see what Jason's reaction was.

"What?" Jason barked, unable to keep the shock and dismay out of his voice.

"The glamour. It wore off a few months ago, right around the time they started talking about Hep-V on the news. I remember everything that happened," Hoyt continued, but Jason was barely listening as he stepped back, shaking his head. Hoyt frowned, taking two steps toward him. "Now hold on, let me finish. When the memories came back it was like it happened all over again, I was so angry. It took me a long time work through all the shit in my head, but after a while I realized not forgiving you was punishing me too, you know? I thought coming back here would bring it all back, and in a way it kind of did. All those feelings I thought I'd killed for Jess, and for you... they were still there, strong as ever. And I missed you. Both of you,"

Jason hadn't dared to hope for forgiveness. Honestly, he wasn't sure he deserved it, but he couldn't help the way his heart pounded into his throat with happiness. "So you're really you?"

Hoyt smiled, halfway and crooked like always. "I'm really me," he affirmed, laughing as Jason launched at him like an exuberant puppy.

"Damn it, Bubba, I missed you too! I'm so sorry..." Jason cried, gripping his much larger friend in a tight hug.

"I know, okay, I do," Hoyt replied, finally pulling back. He gave his friend a knowing look, hooking an arm around his neck and pulling him back toward the kitchen. "So what's this about you and Bridgette?"

XXX

"Your brother is a really nice guy," Bridgette told Sookie, as they watched some mindless afternoon reality show about arguing housewives. She'd only been trying to occupy Bridgette until the guys were done talking, but Sookie found the girl's thoughts were blasting at her like a foghorn.

_And he's sweet. Handsome. Dead Sexy._

"Yeah, he has his charms," Sookie interrupted, in case the thoughts were about to get dirty. "You'll never meet anyone more loyal."

Bridgette smiled at that, eyes glazing over just a little.

_I know it's too soon to be thinking about someone else after Hoyt, but there's something about Jason I can't put my finger on. I wish I had more time to figure it out._

Oh boy. Bridgette really had it bad. Sookie's mind raced, trying to decide if she should use her powers for good or evil. Finally she thought of the goony look on her brother's face and sighed.

"Do you really have to go back to Alaska so soon? Do you have family up there?" she asked, trying to feel out the situation a little more. Bridgette shook her head.

"No, my brother lives in Panama City, but I don't see him much. It's a long flight from there to Alaska."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. Bon Temps is in the middle of everything and far from everywhere," Sookie admitted, realizing quickly it didn't matter what she said. As long as her brother was staying, Bridgette was too.

XXX

_a/n - kind of went out with a whimper there, but i've got to get myself back in the swing of things... i've still got plans for this fic, even if it's been so long since the series finale. stick with me, sexy vampires return in the next chapter..._


End file.
